Griffith Park Observatory

Griffith Park Observatory Los Angeles Reviews

I visited the Griffith Park Observatory recently after it was recommended to me. It has amazing views of the Hollywood sign and Los Angeles too. Outside the observatory is a nice place to sit in the sun with a breeze and enjoy the view. There is also a lot to see inside the observatory if you like space! And best of all, it's free!

One thing to think about is how you're going to get there. We drove but parking is limited so it was quite a hike from the car, but so worth it!

I wanted to get good views of the Hollywood sign and see all of Los Angeles and it seemed the best way to do it was to go the Griffith Park Observatory up in the mountains.

Unless you plan on going on a saturday or sunday there is no transportation system to get you there. You either have to hike for miles, use your own mode of transport or get a taxi. I had no desire to go for a long hike so instead got a taxi right from my hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.

When I told the driver I wanted to go to Griffith Park he couldn't understand why and insisted that I should go to Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica to see the streets and shops. I said "no im good, I wanna go to griffith park" Again he said I should go to Melrose and that theres nothing to see at Griffith Park. I said "look, I wanna go to Griffith Park" "ok, ok. I take you wherever you wanna go"..."ok, well I still wanna go to Griffith Park" haha he was hard work but basically I knew he didn't wanna drive up the mountain. Then when we arrived he tried to make out he didn't have any change as if I was going to tip him $50 haha nice try, I had him get out of the taxi and get change from the observatory.

Needless to say the driver was wrong when he said "there's nothing to see". You could clearly see the Hollywood sign and you could see the whole of Los Angeles. I arrived in the afternoon and stayed until sundown. By that time there was a crazy amount of people there, all arriving to see the beautiful red, pink, orange and blue sky at night.

Inside the observatory there isn't that much to see but outside on the balcony gives you the best views of LA.

I'd highly recommend visiting Griffith Park Observatory. The Observatory is free and the views are pricelss

Griffith Observatory is great for children and adults alike. The best thing about this L.A.’s family destination is free! Although, parking would be a challenge. The exact location is up on mountain hills. We had difficulty finding the place but, a navigation system would sure help now a day. One of the main attraction inside the main building is the planetarium with lots of interesting information about outer space in general. There are opportunities for children to interact and learn through various displays and science instruments.

View of the city is clear from this point, well granting smog won’t spoil that during your visit. Also, for those who are finding a good spot to photograph the Hollywood sign this is the perfect spot. Just bring a telephoto lens! Although, we did not have a hands on experience using the huge telescopes at the observatory, it is still a worth it visits.

If you are into hiking and experiencing amazing views I would recommend Griffith Park hike trails. During the day there are several hike trails that lead up to breathtaking views of Los Angeles. They range from easy, to moderate, to difficult depending on what level of hiking you prefer. Hike trails and park are free.

Also, at the very top of Griffith Park there is the Observatory, which is has a Planetarium and other Space Exhibits. The best time to go here is at nightfall when you can use the telescopes and see the amazing views of the city as well. Price of admission into the is free, and the live show exhibits are extremely cheap in price.

The third attraction of Griffith Park is the Greek Theater. If you are into live music I recommend this outdoor venue. It is by far one of the best music venues in Los Angeles. Check out their website for musicians/bands that are playing monthly. Prices vary from show to show.

View of Los Angeles city lights and the Hollywood sign in the backgroundMay 05, 2012

Go to this place right around sunset and you can take the most perfect picture with the Hollywood sign right behind you. When it gets dark and the LA lights are glowing another perfect photo opportunity. It's an astronomy building so there are some fun things to learn if you like all things outer space related. There are hiking trails all around this area and you can even have a picnic on the grounds. I would take anyone visiting LA here for so many reasons.

Griffith Observatory and the surrounding Griffith Park is a must see if visiting Los Angeles. Griffith Park I believe is actually the largest recreational park in the Unites States. Has the observatory and the Los Angles Zoo within it's grounds. The Observatory has some of the best if not the best views of Los Angles and Hollywood area. You could also decide to do one of the shows in the observatory rather than just sight see from above. The shows if I remember are only around 8 to 10 US Dollars and run from 30 - 90 min or so in length. They are quite informative and are a real blast to watch. When done you can wander about the large park area where you'll see a number of locals running, playing games, picnicking, lounging about and such. It's a pretty cheap way to get a good feel of one of Los Angeles' premier places to visit.

My friends I went on a weekend trip to LA and spent a morning hiking in Griffith Park to get some cool pictures with the Hollywood sign in the background.

We got our pictures and a nice hike. It was a nice sunny March morning, but the skyline over the city was pretty smoggy/foggy. Since we arrived relatively early it was quite easy to find parking; I don't know what the rest of the day was like. We followed one of the trails, which had a lot of nice hills. The trail was pretty busy with both horses and other hikers. I recommend watching out for horse poop!

I heard the park is huge so I probably missed out on most of it, but I liked what I saw and think this is a good and a little bit different way to see more of LA.

The best Vantage Point in L.A. If you are visiting here... check it out for all of your skyline photos. If you live here... take a hike up the foothills... get some good views of pretty everywhere. Up on the top there are some benches and exercise bars. You can see all the way to Long Beach on a clear day. Best times to come here are clear days.

During the sunny months when you're fried from the beach, you may want to skip out on LA's fabulous nightlife and venture to a place where you can really appreciate the stars.

Perched on top of Mount Hollywood and parallel to the famous Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory is one of the best locations to get a breath-taking view of Los Angeles. Take a friend or your honeybee to the Observatory viewing deck and line up to take a peek through one of the largest and oldest telescopes in America. Make sure you go around 5-7PM, right before the sun is about to set. The observatory viewing deck usually closes around 9:30PM, and you will be waiting in line for approximately 45 minutes - so plan accordingly, because they WILL shut people out.

Make all your friends jealous and tell them that you're going to spend an evening with the stars. Griffith Park hosts monthly star parties - Astronomy aficionados will bring their telescopes of all sizes to observe the twinkly subjects in the sky. If you go during the month of August, you might be lucky enough to see Jupiter at its brightest and the eye of the storm!

The Observatory has also appeared in films such as: Transformers, Charlie's Angels Full Throttle, and the Terminator!

The Griffith Observatory has recently been remodeled. I remember going as a kid, but unfortunately it was so long ago I don't remember what the old version looked like. As it stands in its current state, however, the Griffith Observatory is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles.

One of the best reasons to visit the observatory is for the spectacular views of Los Angeles. I would argue that the views from Griffith Observatory are even more impressive than the views from the Getty Center, and there are lots of trails along the hills where you can seek the best vantage points. All the parking spots in the top lot were taken, but we just parked along the side of the road up, about a quarter mile down from the observatory. Even the walk up was scenic and enjoyable.

Once at the Observatory, there are various informative exhibits, but we headed straight for the Planetarium, which features an impressive movie and light show projected onto the inside of a dark, domed room. The special effects were pretty spectacular, and you actually had the feeling that you were looking at the sky. Unfortunately, the guide/narrator spoke in an overly dramatic voice, which made it difficult to fully appreciate the entire experience. I think there are different guides each time, so hopefully you will be luckier!

This was definately the highlight of LA. It gets you away from the soul-less avenues, and take you, literally above the whole city.

The highlight for me, personally, was walking up from the car with my friend colvering my eyes, as he didn't want me to have a sneak preview of the sight he was taking me to. Then, he turned me around, and uncovered them for my first look at the somewhat dissapointing 'Hollywood' sign.

The museum is very take it or leave it. It's interesting enough. But the view is the best bit, you can see the lights of LA stretching for miles, and I highly recommend using the 50cent binoculars. After spening the day in the city itself, I used it to see closeup where we had been all day, it was actually awesome.

Another amazing bit, is finding out how much you weigh on each planet. I am no existant on Mecury :) - Strangely enough everyone was avoiding the earth scales!

Visited the Griffith Observatory for the first time this weekend, using only public transportation - can you believe??

If you can manage to get on the Red Line, there is a shuttle to the Observatory right outside the Vermont/Sunset stop. Total one way - $1.50!

It was a splendid time although extremely cold and windy this time of year. This observatory is free and just a fabulous little oasis in Los Angeles. I went during the day when the views are fantastic, but I'd like to visit again at night when they allow you to look through the telescope thing to see the sky. Now that would be pretty cool!

I once read Griffith Observatory described as "L.A.'s Hood Ornament" and I could never think of a better way to describe it. Although the newly expanded museum, renovations, history of the place, and new planetarium show are all quite beautiful and well worth a visit on their own merit, none of them make your jaw drop in amazement.

However, the building's magestic perch above Los Angeles and the VIEW that it provides makes this place one of my favorite places in Southern California. Like the Getty, the views from the Observatory are stunning and allow you to see a large part of the L.A. Basin. And of course, the Hollywood Sign is right there next to you.

In many ways, Griffith Observatory is a lot like the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro: a) very simple yet beautiful, b) 1930's Art Deco, and c) commanding a view over a beautiful city. Well, at least that's how I see it!